Speed changing mechanism



June 13, 1950 w. M. SHIBLES SPEED CHANGING MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 26, 1946 3 mm w T aw V ma vw \om Q Q k a H 2: m m 3 m f m av 9? T, m MN INVENTOR William M- Shibles BY g W ATTORNEY.

June 13; 1950 Filed June 26, 1946 W. M. SHIBLES SPEED CHANGING MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 M i Lil;

INVENTQR William MSfub/es Patented June 13, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE 2,511,548 SPEED CHANGING MECHANISM William M. Shibles, Seattle, Wash; 7 a Application June 26, 1946, Serial No. 6791372 1 claim; (onu -789') improving and enhancing the efficiency of the same.

Further objects of the invention are to provide a speed-changing mechanism having the following novel and important features: a mechanism capable of either high or low speed operation; a mechanism by or with which change of speed under full load may be effected without loss of speed or inertia of the driven memberf a mechanism having a positive neutral position; a mechanism having a smooth and cushioned action during speed-changing periods; a

,mechanism having non-shifting torque transmission elements or members and hence does not require any extraneous locking device or devices for holdingsaid elements or members in the selected speed-changed position; a mechanism adaptable and capable of local or remote m control; a mechanism adaptable and capableiii of being reversed from full speed in one direction to full speed in the opposite direction by reversing the power driving unit of thesame;

and a mechanism which may be partially disengaged from the load at one speed, whildi'l use with a lathe'headstock changefgear transpartially engaging the same at another speed. With the foregoing in view, the invention es- I sentially resides and is more particularly concerned in the provision of a speed-changing 40,

same being broken away "companying' drawings described in the following specification, and then more clearly pointed out in the claim, which is appended hereto and formspart of this application. f

With reierence to, the drawings, in'which there are illustrated two embodiments of the "invention, and throughout the several views of which like characters of reference designate similar parts: I v

Figure alOIigituGi-naI vertical medial sec tion of a speed changing mechanism cdmprhended by the present'invention, and as it would appear when operatively installed within a lathe headstock housing; Figure 2 is a fragmentary transverse vertical section of the same taken on the line 2-'-2 of Fig. 1;

Figure 3 is a similar section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Figure 4 is aplan view of the four-way fluid.

pressure control valve, which is employed r selectively obtaining the desired speed fromthe speed-changing, mechanism, certain parts of w I V andshown in section for clarity of illustration; Figure 5 is a transverse vertical medial section of the valve taken on the line 5-5 of Fig.

mechanism, which in its preferred embodiment'fa i s is characterized by the employment of a single driving member, such as a pulley or gear; a

single driven member, such as a countershaft,

revoluble within'the .driving member; a rotary torque transmitting structure or clutch mounted upon androtatable with said driven, member, whereby the latter is interlocked with the driving member for rotation as a unit, for a 1:1 speed ratio; planetary or epicylic gearing including a non-rotatable brake structure, 'wherethrough torque is transmitted from the drivingmernber to the driven member for a 2:1 speed ratio; and

control means, which may be located in close proximity to the speed-changing mechanism or desired speed to the driven member. I I Y The above, and additional objects which will hereinafter be more specifically'treated are ata .tained by suchmeans as are shown in the-aca0 ortapered roller bearings 11, which are mainremotely therefrom, for selectively imparting the" and, v c s Figure 6 is a view, partly in longitudinal vertical medial section and partly in sideelvation of an alternative form of speed-changing ec n ms q .7. J 3, 5

In the present disc1osure,I have elected to show and describe the speedchanging'mechanism of the inven'tion as operatively adapted for mission, whereby the cutting speeds of the lathe work spindle are doubled';"however, it is to be here understood that this" is for purposes of illustration only, inasmuch as'the present speedchanging mechanism 7 has many ad p atio "an applications,

In Figure 1 the numeral "lddesign ate's the headstock end of the bed or base of a lathe; I l,

' aligned spaced relation to the bushed boss 'I3."-

The numeral l5 generally designates the speed-changing mechanis'm'of the present invention, the driven member or countershaft l6 of whichis 'journalled at its ends within the bushed boss I3 and bushed bracket 14, respectively. 'Mounted in opposed spaced relation 'u cn the co untershaft 16, at a point substantial 1y midway the length thereof, are anti-friction tained and retained against outward axial displacement thereon by an integral shaft collar l8 and a shaft locknut l9.

The driving member of the speed-changing mechanism 15, which in the present disclosure .is illustrated as in the form of a V-belt 20, is connected by appropriate V-belts to a suitable power unit, not shown, and is journalled or revolubly mounted upon the anti-friction bearings W, said pulley, for this purpose, being provided unon one, end thereof with an integral, i nt eriorly shouldered and concentrically disposed" sleeve" 21, wherein the bearings I! are housed and-retained against inward axial displacement by the shoulders.- t e e tl tegr v iorm d upon, o otherwise frxedly'secured to, the periphery .of the sleeve 21, atjthe outer end thereof, is a friction wheel 22 adapted for frictional engagement with a .nuidedistensible torque transmitting and cushioningtrotary structure orclutch '23 of the con- .stricting type.

A The type of torque transmitting and cushioning rotary structure herein shown is well known in the industrialart, hence, norclaim ,for novelty in such structure,;per se, madeherein, except, and however, it is thought'and believed that the combinations of suchstructure, or its mechanical equivalent, with the other elements or vfeatures vqf; the-present invention-are newand-novel. The rotar Structure 2 3 herein disclosed comprises a centrally bossed disk-shaped member '24, which .j lrigidly secured to the .countershaft l6 for rotation therewith, as by a key 25, said member 24 ,for this purpose being interposed between the bushedbracket l4 and the integralshaft collar l:8 as shown -in.;Fig. 1. Fixedly secured, as by bolts 25, to the inner face of the member 24 is inwardly directed annularvflange 2?! adapted to be normally disposed .in a common plane with and winconcentric spaced relation to the iriction wh el said nn a f a ge 21 h vingthe a nular fluid-distensible and constricting member rgligof thestructure 23=fixedly secured to its inner wall surface, which member 28 upon its consun gear 36.

stricting Wall surface is provided with aseries of an opening or port .55 .formed within the end friction shoe 28 for frictionally engaging thepe- ,riphery-of the friction wheel 22 upon distention and c nstric n o the em e -28. F u r sur-e is supplied to the :distensible member -28 by shaped fitting 35,,which communicates with m ,a diallydisposedpassagewayror duct-3|. formed lapped spindle rotating. in a sealed double row ball 'bearing and is positively sealed within its c rrels d c si e bar-a no i u hi :Enclqsed within the vebelt pulley 20, on the chambered or oppositeend of same to thatof the integral --sleeye 21 is planetary or repicyclicgearing consisting oifzan annular or ring gear 34, de-

tachably secured to the pulley 20, as by cap cunt r haft it. bya k y 3 a d d m r al opposed sets-of intermeshing planet pinions, one pinion 38 0f eachset meshing with theannular ear-at w ile. t e e h sim a -3. f ea h set screws 3 a su ar 36 fix dly secure z fl the meshes with :thefsunzgear 36 .as mere clearly,

double planet pinions being to always drive the countershaft I6 in the same direction as the driving member 20. The planet pinions 38 and '39 are revolubly mountedupon studs til, which latter are threadedly secured in spaced relation within the marginal portion of a disk-shaped planet carrying member M having upon one side thereof an integral concentrically disposed and exteriorly shouldered bushed sleeve portion 42, which is revolubly mounted upon the countershaft l6, between the bushed boss I3 and the The numeral 43 indicates an annular cover plate for the planetary gear chamber of the drive pulley 28., which is detachably secured tothe end of the latter in concentric relation to the sleeve portion 4 as by cap screws '41. Theantifriction bearings I] and'the planetary gearing above described, are adapted to run in ,oil or grease, accordingly, the cover plate 43 isprovided with an oil seal 45 and th'e outer end of the pulley sleeve 2| is similarly provided with anoil seal 46.

Fixedly secured by a key 4! to the sleeve portion 22 of the planet carrying member "All 'is'a brake or looking wheel 48 adapted to be frictionally engaged .by a non-rotatable fluid-distens'ible cushioning brake or locking structure '45,

of the constrictingtype, said structure having an annular flange member 50, adapted to he vdetachably secured, as'by'bolts 5|,1tothe inner face o'fthe end coyerplate l2 or the headstock casing 1 and to "be normally disposed in a common plane with and in concentric spaced relation to 1thelbrake wheel 48, said annular flange member Fm-having theannular fluid-distensible and constricting member 152 'of the, brake structure 1 9 ri idly secured to its inner wall surface, which member 52 upon its constricting wall is provided with; a. series of brake or friction shoes 53 'for irictionally engaging the periphery of the brake wheel 45 upon distention and constriction of the member '52. Fluid pressure is supplied to the distensible member 52 by an L-s'haped fitting 5,4, the outer end of which is seated within the annular flange member 56 for communication with which is fixedlysecured thereto, asby a .lrey I51.

.I'o effect selective operation or the torque transmitting structure 23 andlor the, brake structure 49, wIhave,provided,as shown inlli'igs. and 5, 1 a tofrl va uid r ssu n r va e 58 for the speed-changing mechanism 15, said valve consisting of a baselplate 59, a valvebonnet 6.0, avva1ve disk 5.1, .avalve stem '62, and a valve 'operatingchandle i'6,3. The base platefiiil isprovided with a pair of inlet-outlet port's 6'4 and 65, respectively, alsoan exhaust port 66, saidlinltoutlet port 64 being connected by piping '16.! to the inlet .of the -rotorseal33 ..forfurnishing fluid pressure to the torque transmittingstruchure '23 and, exhausting the same therefrom, while the inlet-outlet. port 65' is connected by pipin 'fiBto the openingorportfiiin the end coverplate l2 .rorlfurnishing fluidpressureto the brake strucshown in Fig. 2, the purpose and function of the '15 ture'49 and exhausting'the sametherefrom. The

might eirhaust port 66 is provided withan exhaust: pipe 6 9,1 whereby the exhaust fluid pressureis carried ofif and dissipated at any suitable or desirable point. The valve bonnet 60 is fixedly secured, as "by cap screws III, .to the upper face of the base 'plate' 59, and is connected by a fluid pressure suppll l'jpipe II to a source of fluid pressure, not shown. The valve disk 6 I' is adapted to normally seat upon the upper face of the base plate 59 and is'provided inits marginal portion with a fluid pressure inlet port I2 and also within its valve abutting face with a substantially semi-circular groove 13, which latter functions to establish and "maintain communication between the inlet-outlet ports 64 and 65 and theexhaust port 66 when the valve disk BI is in its neutral or central position, also to maintain such communication between the inactive inlet-outlet port and the exhaust port, when the fluid pressure inlet port of said valvedisk is in registration with the active inlet -outlet port. The valve stem 62 at its lower squared terminal is concentrically seated within the'upper face of the valve disk 6|, for effecting dscillative movement of the latter, and also at a point, substantially midway, its length is provided with a frustro-conicalcbllar I4 seatable within the valve bonnet 60 thereby eliminating'the usual valve stem stufiing box. A helical spring I5 interposed between the valve disk 6| and the collar 14' functions jointly to maintain the said disk in'seated relation upon the base plate 59 and said collar in similar relation within the valve bonnet. Stops, not shown, may be provided to*positively limit os'cillative movement of the valve disk SI and thus assure of proper registration of the fluid pressure inlet port I2 with the inlet-outlet ports 64and 65 during operative anism, I5, assuming a direct drive or 1:1 ratio is desired, the operator moves the valve operating handle 63, toward the left inflFiglA, therebyadting, fluidpressure'to "thej fluid-distensible mb'er' 18', to "cause constriction of the inner all of the same and in consequence frictional enagement of th'e'friction shoes s with 'the 115ephery of the friction wheel' 22f,fand thus establish a direct'drive between the"latter"'and -the countershaft I6, as will be manifest and apparent. When it is desired to increase or double the speed of the countershaft I6, the operator moves the valve operating handle 63 to a corresponding position on the right of center, thereby exhausting fluid pressure from the distensible member 28 and admitting fluid pressure to the distensible member 52, to cause constriction of the inner wall of same and in consequence frictional engagement of the brake shoes 53 with the periphery of the brake wheel 48, thus locking the planet carrying disk 4I against rotation, whereupon torque is transmitted from the driving member or pulley to the countershaft I6 through the ring gear 34, planets 38 and 39 and sun gear 36. To return the speed-changing mechanism to its inactive or neutral position, the operator moves the valve operating handle 63 to its central position shown in Fig. 4, thereby exhausting the fluid pressure from the distensible member 52.

In the alternative form of speed-changing mechanism shown in Fig. 6, and therein generally designated by the numeral I5 the essential difference between this mechanism and the speedchanging mechanism I5 hereinbefore shown and described, is that the expanding type of torque lor 'evity, itf is thought and deemed necessary to describe'only those changes or modifications of structure necessitated by such substitutions or rep1aeementsas the remaining elements or parts are identical to those hereinbefore shown and describedfor the mechanism I5. H r

\Acoordingly, the'driving member or V'-be lt pulley. 2II' of the mechanism I5? is provided upon its direct drive end with an integral annular flange or peripheral drum 22*, which flangeex tends, from the pulley in axial prolongation there? to for frictional engagement with fluid-distensible' torque transmitting and cushioning r'o tary structure or clutch 23 of the expanding type, which structure is operatively positioned upon and rigidly connected to thecountershaft I6 of the mechanism I5 in substantiallythe same manner as hereinbeforedescribed for the structur'e23 of the mechanism I5. :As.,.a, substitute for thebrake wheel 48 of the mechanism I5 a brake drum 48 is provided which kleye'dto the sleeve extension 42 of the disk-shaped planet carrying member 4], said brakedrum being adapted iorfrictional engagement byla non-rotatable fluid distensible cushioning brake structure 49 of the expanding type, which structure is detachably secured to the inner faceof' the endcover plate I2 of its correlated headsteck casin not shown, in substantially the brakestructure 49 of the mechanism I5. v

In the operation of the alternative form of speed-changing mechanism I5 fluid distention of the torque'transmitting rotary structure 23 functions to directly connect the driving pulley 20 with the count'erjshaft I6 for a 1:1 speed ratio, while similar distention of the brake struc- 'ture 49 functions to transmit ytorque fromjjthe pulley 2!] through the planetary gearing of the mechanism to the countershaft I 6*, for a 2:1 speed ratio.

, In both forms of speed-changing mechanisms herein disclosed the driving and driven members rotate in the same direction at all speeds and reversal of the driven members can only be efsame manner as hereinbefore described for the fected by reversing rotation of the. correlated power units thereof.

Exhaustive tests of the present speed-changing mechanism and extensive practical use of same in various types of machine tools have shown and demonstrated that such mechanism, by reason of its novel and improved construction, is especially adapted and suited for high operational speeds; permits of speed changes, under full load, without loss of speed or inertia of the driven member; provides smooth and cushioned action during speed changing periods; also, while having a positive neutral or inactive completely disengaged position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 6, permits, when desired, by proper manipulation of the control valve 58, of gradual or partial disengagement from the load at one speed and gradual or partial engagement at another speed, or of instant transferral of the load from one speed to another; and since, in its preferred embodiment, such mechanism is operable by fluid pressure, it may be activated and controlled from any desired distance or remote point.

In the present disclosure, the driving members 20 and 20* of the speed-changing mechanisms I5 and I5 have been herein shown and described,

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